Cavendish University Zambia Council and Management are pleased to announce the confirmation of Dr. Rachel Milomba Velu as Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs, effective 01 October 2026.
Dr. Velu first joined Cavendish University Zambia (CUZ) in January 2017 as a Lecturer in the School of Medicine, serving through February 2019. She rejoined Cavendish in September 2023 as Senior Lecturer and Dean of the School of Medicine—roles she held until her current appointment as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor. Her leadership experience at CUZ also includes serving as Head of Department for the Master of Public Health –Global Health Program. Prior to her time at CUZ, she held teaching appointments at Eden University and the University of Zambia.
Throughout her academic career, Dr. Velu has been instrumental in curriculum development, distance-learning module design, and program reviews. Externally, she serves on the Public–Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) Education Technical Working Group in Zambia.
As an accomplished researcher, Dr. Velu has served as a Clinical Research Fellow and Clinical Care Provider at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) and as a Research Fellow at the University of Kinshasa. She has served as Principal Investigator and Project Lead on competitively funded studies, securing major grants from Merck & Co. (EngageZone) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Her research spans arbovirus surveillance, dengue transmission dynamics, COVID-19, and rotavirus and Shigella vaccine evaluations, with findings published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Viruses, Vaccines, Pathogens, and PLoS ONE.
Dr. Velu holds a PhD in Infectious Diseases from the University of Zambia, a Master of Science in Epidemiology (One Health), a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Kinshasa, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Methodology. She has pursued advanced training at world-class institutions, including Tel Aviv University, the University of Washington, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additionally, she is an active member of the Health Professions Council of Zambia, the Zambia Medical Association, and the Medical Council of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We ask all staff, students, and stakeholders to fully support Dr. Velu as she assumes her new responsibilities.
DR. OVERS M. M. BANDA
CHAIRMAN TO THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
